PREFACE
ON BEHALF of the National Science Resources Center (NSRC), l am pleased to introduce readers to this new volume, Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science. It replaces Science for Children: Resources for Teachers as the NSRC's current guide to hands-on, inquiry-centered elementary school science curriculum materials and resources. Although important changes have been made in this completely updated and revised edition, it retains many important elements of the original, as well as its spirit and purpose—namely, to help elementary school teachers teach science more effectively in their classrooms.
The NSRC produced the first edition of the guide in 1988, and that volume became a valued resource almost immediately. Since 1988, elementary science curriculum materials have proliferated and efforts in science education reform have taken on new intensity, culminating recently in the publication of the landmark National Science Education Standards from the National Research Council.
Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science was under development at the same time that work on the National Science Education Standards was proceeding, and the NSRC has endeavored to ensure that the new resource guide will be responsive to the recommendations in that historic document. The guide is designed to provide teachers, principals, school district administrators, and others with up-to-date information on curriculum materials that are consonant with the principles advocated in the Standards. These principles include an emphasis on student inquiry, teaching for understanding, and the inclusion of science as a core subject in every grade, starting in kindergarten.
We at the NSRC believe that this new edition of Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science responds to a critical need in science education today. The sheer volume of science curriculum materials now available can be daunting for individual teachers and for school systems trying to select the most effective materials for their specific needs.
Although there is a broad range of science teaching resources that are available to serve the needs of elementary school teachers, the quality of these published materials varies greatly. Authoritative guidance in evaluating materials is essential to making sound decisions, and the complication of evaluating the science content, together with the hands-on, inquiry-based aspects of materials, requires special expertise. For all these reasons, Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science can be a productive and time-saving tool for teachers and school districts, and ultimately, of course, of great benefit to their students.
To select the curriculum materials to be included in this new guide, the NSRC, which is operated jointly by the National Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonian Institution, established an extensive, rigorous review process. This process required the development of criteria by which reviewers could assess instructional materials. The evaluation criteria established by the NSRC for this purpose were informed by the emerging National
Science Education Standards and are consistent with the philosophy and the basic principles articulated in the standards. (These evaluation criteria appear in Appendix B in this volume and can be used independently by teachers and school districts for assessing curriculum materials.)
Among directories and databases of elementary school science curriculum materials, Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science is unique for basing its selection of materials on a formal review process. This review was carried out in two phases, involving a panel of teacher reviewers and a panel of scientist reviewers. (The review process is described in the Introduction to the Guide; the reviewers are listed in the Acknowledgments.)
With respect to the structure of the new book, Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science retains the major sections and useful indexes of the previous edition. The chapter now called "Museums and Other Places to Visit" has been expanded considerably. The redesign of the interior of the book includes mechanical adjustments to make the information in the guide more accessible to readers. An example is the use of a system of entry numbers for the annotations to help locate them easily.
This new edition lists and annotates materials and resources for kindergarten through sixth grade. Readers may be pleased to note that the NSRC plans to develop guides for middle school and high school in the not-too-distant future.
Inspiration for the 1988 edition of this reference volume can be attributed to Sally Goetz Shuler, NSRC's Deputy Director for Development, External Relations, and Outreach, who recognized the need for such a book almost 10 years ago.
Building on the strengths of the previous edition, Evelyn M. Ernst, NSRC Program Director for Information Dissemination and general editor of Resources for Teaching Elementary School Science, joined NSRC to direct this project. Working with her staff and with Chuck Hardy, the NSRC Deputy Director for Information Dissemination, Materials Development, and Publications, she has guided the project through all phases of development—from formulation of the evaluation criteria through panel review to publication.
We would like to thank the NSRC's parent institutions, the National Academy of Sciences and the Smithsonian Institution, for their vision and support in helping NSRC undertake this project. We look forward to hearing from users of the volume as to its effectiveness in meeting their needs, together with any suggestions they may have for its improvement.
DOUGLAS LAPP
Executive Director
National Science Resources Center
January 1996
